Reptile house is a disgrace

Sir,

A large group of us recently came to Cyprus for a holiday, from the UK during which we visited the Reptile House in Limassol. Many other tourists from other parts of the world were also looking around.

Everyone was completely horrified at the cramped and poor standards/conditions that these animals were kept in. As a group, we felt that this place gave a very bad impression of animal welfare in Cyprus and were surprised that Cyprus permits it to happen. We all agreed that the Reptile/Snake/Monkey house is cruel and shows a total disregard for the animals trapped there. There are small glass containers for huge snakes to live in. Terrified live baby rabbits and chicks were being thrown into the snakes alive, after being kept in small plastic containers, where they were squawking with stress. They sat huddled in the corner of the snakes’ tanks, trembling and cowering, watching the snake and waiting to be attacked. We were all sickened.

A Senior Tourism Representative later told us that conditions at the owner’s home are far worse. As the public never gets to see the animals at the house/smallholding, they are without any hope or rescue and the proprietor can continue to keep them in barbaric conditions.

In all, we were from ten different countries and agreed the Snake/Reptile/Monkey House in Limassol was about making money and not about the welfare of the animals/reptiles concerned. We would never go there again, and sincerely hope it will be closed down. Letting such an establishment continue has put us off returning again to your beautiful island –it is totally unjustified to keep animals in such conditions, and the government needs to monitor and stop such individuals who abuse animals in such a heartless way.

Rebecca Morgan, UK

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.